A Tale of Life in China, with a Twist

In 2001 Catarina Lilliehook, originally from Stockholm, Sweden, was living in a smart apartment in Beijing study­ing Chinese and becoming increasingly frustrated with the pace of her learning. While Western students will be all too familiar with the challenges of Mandarin, what Catarina did next is a bit less familiar.

Along with her hus­band she packed up, leaving the cosy expat life behind and moved into a Beijing hutong, an experience she likens to 'going back a hundred years in time'. Immersed in Chinese culture, Catarina ('Cats' or 'Li Lin' to her friends), met a wave of questions about every aspect of being Western in the Middle Kingdom.

Such inquisitiveness, and a newfound love of the Chinese language, in­spired Catarina to write Rediscovering China. This is a western mem­oir with a difference: ifs written in Mandarin, with the unique aim of explaining the expat experience to a Chinese audience. Cats invited Eleanor Kerslake into her stunning French Concession home to de­scribe her experiences and the book China was waiting for.




WRITER IN RESIDENCE

Arriving in Catarina's apartment I momentarily wonder if I am writing an interior design article. Her home occupies the entire ground floor of an unusual villa hidden down a leafy lane, which was once known as Amherst Avenue and home to young Jim in J.G.Baliard's 'Empire of the Sun'. The house was designed by the famous Czech architect Ladislaus Hudec, one of the most prolific and influential names in Shanghai Architecture of the 1920's and 30's. Hudec was also responsible for the America Club, Moore Memorial Church and Park Hotel on Nanjing Xilu.

The villa has a unique layout, almost reminiscent of the plan of a Chinese courtyard, with all the rooms surrounding a circular hall, fanning out like segments of an orange. The apartment has a fresh, open feel and each room is enlivened with paint colours fastidiously mixed by Catarina herself, from the cool green hall (repainted five times!) to the kitchen entirely painted in a zesty, earthy yellow.

Her ornaments and photos are the trophies of a travel addict, from Tibetan robes, snaps of Catarina in a shock of blue flowers in a Japanese meadow to striking Chinese antiques. Whilst she protests that she has no favourites and loves the quirky objects as much as the valuable we can't help but linger over her oldest piece: an imposing 150-year-old red Chinese cabinet.

Yet, perhaps the villa's greatest boon is its large leafy garden, a haven of Shanghai's most rare and precious commodity: silence. With not a little envy from the Shanghai Talk side, we all agree on one crucial point - it's a great place to write.

HUTONG LIFE

One can only wonder what the inhabitants of the Beijing hutong, home to Catarina and her business consultant husband for four years, would make of her Shanghai apartment. Catarina recalls the shock from her neighbours whose entire families lived in one flat that just the two of them had the whole courtyard to themselves.

As she made friends with the women selling fruit and doing their laundry Catarina discovered an inexhaustible interest in the West and her life, from how much money westerners earn to whether there were people with black hair in Sweden. She found, like so many expats, that every day in China holds surprises and challenges, even a simple act like going to the market produced baffling sights and humorous misunderstandings.

Moreover, she realized that the aspects of Chinese life she found shocking often surprised her Chinese friends and acquaintances. When explaining how that old chestnut of expat complaints, intense shameless staring, made her feel uncomfortable her surprised audience reassured her no offence was meant. Catarina found that, as she discussed cultural difference, shrouds of mystification were swept away.

'People are just interested to see how a Western mind works,' she says. One particularly important difference requiring explanation was the lack of 'face' in Western culture - and its reigning importance in China. Westerners often express anger and frustration openly, even if they are not necessarily annoyed with a person helping them, becoming even more exasperated with the classic Chinese embarrassed smile. Catarina realized that this awkward smile actually often hid genuine discomfort at such public displays of disgruntlement.

However, Cats could not be put off by 'losing face' herself, taking stock of her experiences, both positive and difficult, she was about to share them with a much larger audience.

FROM NEWBIE TO NOVEL

Towards the end of her time in Beijing, Catarina was talking to her Chinese teacher expressing her surprise that there was such little writing in Chinese on Westerner's thoughts about living in China, especially given widespread interest in the West and the learning English craze. Her teacher promised that if Catarina wrote such a book she would not only help her write it, but put all her efforts into getting it published.

A project was born and Catarina began to recount her tales of exploration and self-education beginning with her first day touching down in Beijing airport. She smiles now when she recalls that first culture shock: 'I felt like an alien! Beijing airport was different then and everyone was looking at me. I was determined not to be ripped off at all in China but by the time I'd got out of my first taxi I'd already been cheated!'

Yet things got better: Catarina would never have believed that years later she would be working on writing methods with her Chinese teacher, to whom the book is dedicated. Eventually they settled on a method where Catarina wrote in Chinese, discussing meanings and editing with her teacher. In time the novel was complete. True to her promise Catarina's teacher found a yellow pages and contacted three top publishers. In time one of them quickly took up the book, betting that cultural difference was a hot and potentially lucrative topic, and proceeded to distribute the memoirs.

INITIAL REACTIONS

Catarina was blown away by the popularity of the book: she received warm reviews in the Chinese press and has been invited to talk in several schools and organizations. As well as being enlightened and amused by her stories readers were also refreshed by her balanced opinion. One friend told Catarina 'most Westerners' books on China fall into two categories: flattering or critical. But you describe the good and the bad.'

The author is adamant that rather than decrying things at first difficult for Western sensitivities, she used her cultural knowledge to rethink initial aversions. For example, not closing the door in public toilets at first seems incomprehen­sible to privacy conscious Westerners but when considered in the context of a more communal culture where, until recently, few people didn't use public toilets she found herself more open minded.

Catarina acknowledges that there is much in China that is better than the West and also some things, like wanton littering, which she still finds difficult to accept. Yet, while well travelled in China, she doesn't claim to be an expert and is still overwhelmed by its immensity. 'If this is China, ' says Catarina, scanning her hands across the large low table where we sit, 'then I have only scratched this corner.'

Yet her book has allowed her to access a diverse stratum of Chinese society. Whilst primarily popular with young white ­collar workers keen to enhance their knowledge of the English language with an understanding of Westerners' thoughts on China, it has also affected broader audiences. Catarina describes a CEO who bought copies for colleagues and an invitation to talk at a top Education Institute for Shanghai's political elite. However, she reports with equal pride that the book is past between her ayi's friends, whipping up plenty of interest.

This mix of Chinese society is what truly fascinates Catarina and she has found the hard working, high living business types of Shanghai's champagne sparkling scene add yet more texture to the complex tapestry of life in China.

PROMISE OF THE EAST

Most rewarding for Catarina is the way Rediscovering China has proved helpful for Chinese readers when understanding, working alongside and making friends with Westerners. One Chinese born friend, who had lived in America for several years, said that he still finds that the book usefully reminded him about the subtle yet undeniable differences in a Western approach.

At first I was nervous about the book and worried people would think it wasn't very good, ' says Catarina, 'but when people began to say it helped them I became passionate about promoting it.' However, whilst focused on promoting the book, Catarina's time is becoming more constrained: two Chinese newspapers have invited her to write columns and she is working on a second book on her Chinese experiences, this time in Swedish.

I wonder if she will translate any of those fantastic Chinese idioms she gathered for her first book into Swedish. Indeed when scanning a collection of idioms one particularly reminds me of Catarina: a man called Chu Zhuliang professes to love dragons, surrounding himself with images and carvings of them, yet when a real dragon comes down to see him, he runs away in fear. The translation is typically obscure, and I hope I'm not drastically misunderstanding when I say that it suggests you can only 'know' something or someone when you look at its reality. While Chinese and Western cultures are not quite dragons, they can be odd, even intimidating, to respective outsiders. Yet only when you put the movies and preconceptions aside for a moment and look at real people and everyday lives can you form your own opinions.

As Catarina says, 'it's up to foreigners to go to China, to really see it for themselves'. Cultural differences are bridged by millions of people making small steps every day. It's almost poetic and I'd imagine there's a proverb in it somewhere ...

August05 ShanghaiTalk 11